Barbara Sinatra co-founded, built and, until the end of her life, raised money for a Rancho Mirage facility that has provided counseling, therapy and education to about 23,000 children recovering from abuse.

She called John Thoresen, director of the Barbara Sinatra Childrens Center at Eisenhower Medical Center, the week before she died to ask how the children were doing and offer her thanks to a donor.

"This was her life, especially after Frank passed away. It’s not just the fact that her name is on the door. This was her passion," Thoresen said. "She would get tears in her eyes when I would tell her about a child that was doing so well."

The Childrens Center was founded in 1986 by Barbara and Frank Sinatra. Since then, Thoresen said about 23,000 children have received outpatient mental health and counseling services at the center, and about 750,000 more have seen videos produced by its staff that teach kids how to identify and respond to abuse.

Sinatra died Tuesday in Rancho Mirage. She was 90.

A public funeral will take place Aug. 1 at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart in Palm Desert.

The idea for the Center started with a tennis game in the early 1980s, Sinatra told The Desert Sun several years ago. Her partner that day was a friend, Barbara Kaplan, who had worked in child psychology.

“She started telling me some of the stories. At that time, child abuse was something that was totally hidden in the closet, or under the carpet. You never realized it happened to someone that you knew," Sinatra told The Desert Sun several years ago. "Then, when you realize the prevalencey of it, it’s just staggering. When I met some of the children, that did it.”

Thoresen said that next, Sinatra began working with some of Kaplan's patients — teen girls who had been sexually abused. She told them that it hadn't been their fault, Thoresen said, and that they were beautiful.

"I think, after doing that for a few years in church basements and office buildings, she just decided, she went to Frank and said, 'this is ridiculous, we need to build a center that helps both boys and girls that have faced this terrible problem of abuse,'" Thoresen said.

Since then, the Center has grown dramatically. Its staff now sees several hundred children and families every month, almost all of them from the California desert between Banning and Blythe. Last year, they rolled out a series of videos for children between kindergarten and sixth grade, featuring animated characters learning from a counselor, "Miss Barbara," about abuse — offering strategies for kids to escape immediate threats and then tell adults they trust.

Thoresen said those videos have been shown to about 750,000 kids around the world so far.

The Sinatras insisted that no child be turned away. Thoresen said the Center's budget today is about $2.75 million, just $200,000 of which comes from patients or their insurance companies. About $1.2 million comes from an affiliated foundation. The rest is generated by constant fundraising, which Sinatra spearheaded for decades.

Donor plaques in the Center's lobby are a lexicon of 20th century celebrities: Jimmy Stewart, James Bond producer Albert Broccoli, the Firestones, and even the Donald J. Trump Foundation.

The Center has a forensic interview room and medical room on site, so police officers can interview children in a comfortable and familiar environment rather than an imposing police station, Thoresen said.

Even without Sinatra, he intends to keep the Center growing.

"That's one question she always asked me — what are you going to do when I'm gone?" said Thoresen, who has directed the Center for about six years. "I said, 'Barbara, you know what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep this thing growing, we're going to keep helping kids.' That's what she was about."

Other memories

Kay Hazen, vice president of the Desert Healthcare District Board of Directors, spoke of Sinatra's commitment to supporting mental health and addiction treatment.

"We mourn the passing of Barbara Sinatra who, along with her husband Frank Sinatra, were a part of our Desert Hospital and District history and purpose," Hazen said in a statement. "The Sinatras were important supporters of and generous donors to our Hospital and community, from hosting the popular Love In concerts for many years to launching the Sinatra Golf Tournament to raise funds for child abuse programs and more — they were treasured friends who gave of themselves to help others. Their memory lives on here in our desert and our District through the many lives they've changed for the better."

The late Ambassador Leonard Firestone accompanies Frank and Barbara Sinatra as they leave the Susan Ford-Charles Vance wedding at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert in 1979. Courtesy of Palm Springs Historical Society

The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, which manages the Annenberg family's Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, named the Children's Center as Sinatra's "lasting legacy."

Barbara and Frank were married at Sunnylands in July 1976. Barbara's wedding gown is now part of the estate's permanent collection.

“Memories of Barbara Sinatra at Sunnylands will be long lasting and deeply treasured,” said Janice Lyle, director of Sunnylands Center and Gardens. “Her friendship and humanitarian efforts are warmly remembered by the trustees and staff.”

Robert Moon, the mayor of Palm Springs, said in a statement Tuesday, “Barbara Sinatra was a very special lady whose extraordinary philanthropic legacy in Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley will live on for years to come through her many charitable organizations such as the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center. Her impact in our community has been tremendous."